obama said they want an end to the high jinks. host: what is your take on president obama's role in negotiating so far? guest: i think he has a strong impulse to reach a deal. his priorities to reaching a deal is surpassing his desire to stand up for progressive principles. to protect parts of the government from harmful cuts that would hurt a lot of regular americans. host: republicans saw his news conference as unusual. john mccain said he should not know if he should be mad or sad. guest: the white house anticipated a lot of progress angst over this deal. they knew there would be concessions. he was trying to fire up the team, slam-dunking on republicans to make it seem like a partisan fight. i think that probably worked. john mccain complained. a lot democratic rally to the cause. host: joe biden made his way to the senate last night. do you know? guest: he allayed a lot of concerns about the debt ceiling. if republicans would refuse to raise the debt ceiling and if obama throws down the gauntlet, i'm not sure we would not hit